Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
I recommend you go do some first-hand research. 
Power Centers and a Brothel
- Thread starter Angelsboi
- Start date
SMUT WARNING: Adolescent concepts :Eric's grandmother, you have been warned
Wowsers in various positions are too obvious, as are rival brothels. Try to think of a reason why people might oppose this brothel although they might be in favour of brothels and free love in general.
Perhaps the brothel is generating orgasmic mana ('orgone energy') that is being used for some magical purpose, unbeknownest to most people. Perhaps it is being used to hide a bound and sleeping lover of the god of bonk right under his/her nose, so to speak. Or perhaps to keep a demon bound. In the first case devotees of the god of horizontal folk-dancing, although in no way opposed to people getting lucky, might have a strong reason to want to stop anyone from having sex within 500' of the brothel for a space of 24 hours. In the second case a bunch of disgusting bad guys might be trying to do the same. In either case these people, though of extremely lax sexual morals, might be pretending to be wowsers.
Or perhaps the whole brothel, festival, and so forth is part of a program of ritul and sympathetic magic designed to promote someone within the divine hierarchy of the gods of interpersonal gymnastics: and perhaps that someone has rivals. What if a gay demigod is trying to replace the current straight god of getting together? There's nothing wrong with that, of course. But what would be the impact on the race if the proportion of straights and gays was reversed?
Perhaps the brothel is built on an important ley-line, and undisciplined orgasming is preventing the proper use of tantric yoga all up and down the line. A bunch of monks covered with pornographic tattoos shows up to 'encourage' the brothel, temple of tumescence, and the whole festival of skin to relocate itself. But being basically decent guys, they are not prepared to use terror. What might they do?
Perhaps chaotic devotees of the god of erotic junction think that no-one should ever have to pay for it.
3. What should be in there to challenge the party?[/QUOTE]
Well, assuming that you don't want to go with any of the ritual magicians implied by my suggestions above...
How about a mujina? The mujina I use in my Gehennum setting are shapeshifters with the following limitation: the only likeness they can adopt (apart from their own, natural, human shape) is that of the last person they had sex with. A Gehennese mujina can create a lot of trouble if he or she has an interest in thieving or assassination.
How about a dogface-joe? A dogface-joe is a sort of possessing spirit that swaps bodies with the soul in any body it bites. The problem for dogface-joes is that any body, while they possess it, grows hair all over, and they tend to be hunted. The original Dogfaced Joe, from the book 'Anubis Gates' by Tim Powers, used to swallow a dose of strychnine and then bite his own tongue off before swapping bodies: someone doing that ought to stir up a Mardi Gras pretty well. A dogface joe can be a really nice move if you have a player who rolled a little unluckily (or a little too luckily) on his physical attributes. A bite, and one failed save, and he can end up in a more appropriate body. (The hair stops growing when the dogface-joe leaves, and falls out gradually over the course of about three months: in the meantime, it can be shaved off.)
With either of these, it ought to take the party a while to work out what the Hull is going on, but it might well be plausible that they do so before the authorities.
Or, if you and your players are happy with something smaller-scale and more personal, try this. One of the PCs meets a very attractive girl loitering with nervous fascination at the edge of the parade. She is very lovely, and oviously fascinated, but a bit too self-conscious to join in the dancing. A kindly PC provides the impetus to overcome her shyness, and draws her into the mosh street. They dance themselves crazy, perhaps partake of pharmaceutical adjuncts to the festival (though dancing alone will do fine), and much, much later they slip off somewhere quiet to consumate the festival. Around dawn the PC wakes up with a boy in his arms. The boy bears an obvious and striking resemblance to the girl of last night, but is plainly not the same. Awoken, he is very confused and upset, because he is the girl, but he has changed sex. Now the PCs have to get him back to his family, who turn out to be the rulers of the city, in time for his wedding. And his husband-to-be is going to want a bride. A bit of frantic research will show that the girl/boy is a gathin, and that he/she will change sex every time he/she makes the beast with two backs. All the party have to do is get him together with a woman. The problem is that he doesn't want to return to the constrained life of an aristocratic lady, and most especially not in time for his wedding. (The time I pulled this gag on a party they were household retainers of the gathin's [nominal] father: much gnashing of teeth ensued.) {By the way, gathins father other gathins, who are always born [apparently] female, but with a family resemblance to the man the gathin-parent serviced last before she covered the mother. They tend to be attractive but somewhat tomboyish.]
Regards,
Agback
Angelsboi said:
Wowsers in various positions are too obvious, as are rival brothels. Try to think of a reason why people might oppose this brothel although they might be in favour of brothels and free love in general.
Perhaps the brothel is generating orgasmic mana ('orgone energy') that is being used for some magical purpose, unbeknownest to most people. Perhaps it is being used to hide a bound and sleeping lover of the god of bonk right under his/her nose, so to speak. Or perhaps to keep a demon bound. In the first case devotees of the god of horizontal folk-dancing, although in no way opposed to people getting lucky, might have a strong reason to want to stop anyone from having sex within 500' of the brothel for a space of 24 hours. In the second case a bunch of disgusting bad guys might be trying to do the same. In either case these people, though of extremely lax sexual morals, might be pretending to be wowsers.
Or perhaps the whole brothel, festival, and so forth is part of a program of ritul and sympathetic magic designed to promote someone within the divine hierarchy of the gods of interpersonal gymnastics: and perhaps that someone has rivals. What if a gay demigod is trying to replace the current straight god of getting together? There's nothing wrong with that, of course. But what would be the impact on the race if the proportion of straights and gays was reversed?
Perhaps the brothel is built on an important ley-line, and undisciplined orgasming is preventing the proper use of tantric yoga all up and down the line. A bunch of monks covered with pornographic tattoos shows up to 'encourage' the brothel, temple of tumescence, and the whole festival of skin to relocate itself. But being basically decent guys, they are not prepared to use terror. What might they do?
Perhaps chaotic devotees of the god of erotic junction think that no-one should ever have to pay for it.
3. What should be in there to challenge the party?[/QUOTE]
Well, assuming that you don't want to go with any of the ritual magicians implied by my suggestions above...
How about a mujina? The mujina I use in my Gehennum setting are shapeshifters with the following limitation: the only likeness they can adopt (apart from their own, natural, human shape) is that of the last person they had sex with. A Gehennese mujina can create a lot of trouble if he or she has an interest in thieving or assassination.
How about a dogface-joe? A dogface-joe is a sort of possessing spirit that swaps bodies with the soul in any body it bites. The problem for dogface-joes is that any body, while they possess it, grows hair all over, and they tend to be hunted. The original Dogfaced Joe, from the book 'Anubis Gates' by Tim Powers, used to swallow a dose of strychnine and then bite his own tongue off before swapping bodies: someone doing that ought to stir up a Mardi Gras pretty well. A dogface joe can be a really nice move if you have a player who rolled a little unluckily (or a little too luckily) on his physical attributes. A bite, and one failed save, and he can end up in a more appropriate body. (The hair stops growing when the dogface-joe leaves, and falls out gradually over the course of about three months: in the meantime, it can be shaved off.)
With either of these, it ought to take the party a while to work out what the Hull is going on, but it might well be plausible that they do so before the authorities.
Or, if you and your players are happy with something smaller-scale and more personal, try this. One of the PCs meets a very attractive girl loitering with nervous fascination at the edge of the parade. She is very lovely, and oviously fascinated, but a bit too self-conscious to join in the dancing. A kindly PC provides the impetus to overcome her shyness, and draws her into the mosh street. They dance themselves crazy, perhaps partake of pharmaceutical adjuncts to the festival (though dancing alone will do fine), and much, much later they slip off somewhere quiet to consumate the festival. Around dawn the PC wakes up with a boy in his arms. The boy bears an obvious and striking resemblance to the girl of last night, but is plainly not the same. Awoken, he is very confused and upset, because he is the girl, but he has changed sex. Now the PCs have to get him back to his family, who turn out to be the rulers of the city, in time for his wedding. And his husband-to-be is going to want a bride. A bit of frantic research will show that the girl/boy is a gathin, and that he/she will change sex every time he/she makes the beast with two backs. All the party have to do is get him together with a woman. The problem is that he doesn't want to return to the constrained life of an aristocratic lady, and most especially not in time for his wedding. (The time I pulled this gag on a party they were household retainers of the gathin's [nominal] father: much gnashing of teeth ensued.) {By the way, gathins father other gathins, who are always born [apparently] female, but with a family resemblance to the man the gathin-parent serviced last before she covered the mother. They tend to be attractive but somewhat tomboyish.]
Regards,
Agback
Angelsboi said:
Okay then.
(1) The mana being generated by the brothel and the festival are fuelling Ophelia's campaign to promote herself within the hierarchy of the gods of bonk. If she succeeds then sadomasochism, paraphilias, bondage, and fetishism in general are going to become more prevalent worldwide.
A coalition of gods and goddesses more attached to soppy romance, the unadorned groinal grind, and F-for-fertility (who are doing pretty well out of the status quo) want to keep Ophelia in her place. They will Take Steps to cut off Ophelia's wellspring of orgone. Their exact means will depend on the exact distribution portfolios within the Department of Sensual Pleasures. What can a cleric (or paladin) of a god of sex do to stop people from playing 'hide the sausage'?
(2) The staff of the brothel includes a few members of unusual races whose shtick is bondage scenes with a war-captive script or various race-hatred scripts. Some of their co-racialists have misunderstood, think they are really captives, and are coming to rescue them. Given sex-roles in drow society, it might work best if a group of drow were here to 'rescue' a drow B-girl.
Regards,
Agback
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